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This webinar was co-sponsored by ASCE's Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) and ASCE Continuing Education
Instructor: Douglas Shields, Ph.D
Course Length: 1 Hour
Purpose and Background
This webinar will provide a synthesis of available data regarding effectiveness of selected stream restoration approaches, identifying key factors that lead to success or failure.
Stream restoration is widely practiced in developed countries, with annual expenditures in the U.S. exceeding $1 billion. However, few projects are monitored, and many that have been monitored have performed poorly. Accordingly, the ability of stream restoration engineers to deliver promised benefits is in question. This webinar will provide a synthesis of available data regarding effectiveness of selected stream restoration approaches, identifying key factors that lead to success or failure. These factors may be combined in an overall semi-quantitative assessment of the risk of project failure. The webinar should equip participants to produce stream restoration projects that more closely approach stakeholder expectations.
Primary Discussion Topics
- Effectiveness of selected stream restoration approaches
- Key factors that lead to success or failure of stream restoration
- Well researched methods that yield the greatest success
- Methods that rarely work
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Identify key factors that contribute to stream restoration project success
- List several proven stream restoration techniques
- Identify "promising" but not yet proven approaches
- Develop semi-quantitative project risk assessments
Webinar Benefits
- Learn about latest meta-reviews of stream restoration effects research
- Reduce project outcome uncertainty
- Educate stakeholders regarding difficulty of stream ecosystem restoration so that they have realistic expectations regarding project outcomes
- Learn about the types of projects that have proven most effective in producing desired ecological outcomes
- Avoid selecting restoration design approaches that have poor track records of success
- Consider recent innovative ideas for new stream restoration approaches
- Learn about recently published research on stream restoration effects
Assessment of Learning Outcomes
Students' achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed via a short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions).
Intended Audience
- Hydraulic Engineers
- Hyrdologists
- Geomorphologists
- Designers
- Biologists and Ecologists
- Planners and project managers
Webinar Outline
- Introduction, overview, objectives
- Where's the beef? What research studies on restoration benefit delivery have shown
- Shooting fish in a barrel: some things that almost always work
- Snake oil for sure: some things that hardly ever work
- Ideas someone should try
How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs and Receive Your Certificate of Completion
To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 1 year of purchasing the course.
How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?
1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs [Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 PDH]